Email etiquette isn't just about rules and regulations. It's about your business -- its communications, sales, and image.  Here are six best practice tips for getting it right.

1. Keep it short. You may have a lot to say, but frankly, we're not going to read it. A long gray block of copy is going to turn us off. Help us get you Organize your message in key points and make the point quickly. Edit out redundancy. Edit in brevity.

2. Summarize the subject line. This is your first chance to get read, so play fair. Describe the point of your message in the subject line instead of sounding like a come-on spammer.

3. It's all about "you."  Start and end your email message targeting the reader. You can't help but draw the reader in when using the word  "you." Be sure to let them know why your message has value to them.

4. One message per customer. One email does not fit all -- messages, that is. Break up multi-messages into separate deliverables. One big message per email is more apt to improve results. Additional messages tend to get lost in the clutter.

5.  Keep it cool. We've all been misunderstood in our email messages. Don't fall prey again. Leave slang, sarcasm, parody and irony out and never write an email that could be misinterpreted and shared out of context.

6.  Proofread. A typo in a cover letter will keep you from being hired. A typo in an email is just as bad. Run spellcheck, proof, and proof again. Watch your word usage for common misuse  and mispelling like then and than -- lose and loose, and review your punctuation.